Leading Health Indicator 14 (continued)
Alcohol Use Among Youth and Young Adults
Alcohol and drug use results in impulsivity, lack of self-regulation, and poor
judgment. Among youth and young adults, alcohol and substance abuse is
associated with mortality and injury from automobile crashes; school
absenteeism and dropout; promiscuity; rape; and a greater risk for suicide and
crime.(7, 8) Though most young people who experiment with alcohol and drugs
will not continue to misuse them; there is a greater likelihood of addiction
among persons who begin using alcohol and drugs when
young.(2,
9) Alcohol use
trends among youth dropped between 1997 and 2001 in the U.S. and in Florida.
While differences between U.S. and Florida in 2001 were not significant in most
measures; heavy episodic drinking among Florida youths was significantly lower in
Florida than the U.S.
Over 31 percent of Florida high school students rode one or more times in a
vehicle driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol in 2001
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Riding with a driver who had been drinking alcohol increased by grade level, was
lowest among black non-Hispanic high school students and highest among white
non-Hispanic males in 2001.
Figure 74: Florida High School Students Who Rode in a Vehicle Driven by
Someone Who Had Been Drinking by Gender, Grade Level and Racial/Ethnic Group,
2001
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Source: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), 2001
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5104.pdf (In order to view
this document, the free Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed. It can be
downloaded
directly from the Adobe
website.) and
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/YRBSS
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